Hoo boy. Right now I feel like dousing myself in vitriol, setting myself alight, and dive bombing the internet. The majority of the second half of Kare Kano was good, but on many levels it went so far wrong that it was difficult to see where the rightness had been.
I did not care so much about the lack of a conclusion to the series; I had expected it all along. The half-arsed nature of what we were subjected to in the last six episodes, however, is less than excusable. One might say that this is, in fact, “inexcusable”.

This is what high school anime should be: directed by Anno Hideaki and (not) animated by GAiNAX. There is a lot to love about Kare Kano; much of the time, Anno out Annoes himself, which is always fun, and frequently besides it has many strong messages of comedy, love and drama.

Going into a movie expecting the worst can sometimes turn out in one’s favour: when a movie is not, in fact, terrible and can perhaps even be termed “entertaining”, this is a victory. Tales From Earthsea is one such movie.

The problem with being made by Ghibli is that a certain standard of excellence is expected. The problem with being made by Miyazaki Goro is that the film is forced to live in his father’s shadow. For my money, I enjoyed this movie infinitely more than I did Howl’s Moving Castle.

Tales from Earthsea probably sucks as an Earthsea movie – consultation with my mother reveals that an enormous amount of this movie makes no sense from an adaptation perspective, and Ursula K. Le Guin agrees with this – but otherwise it’s a perfectly engaging, albeit generic, Ghibli fantasy film.

Until May 27th, Dendy Newtown is showing Tales of Earthsea, which you may know as Gedo Senki, or as “Miyazaki Goro’s Potentially Incoherent, Not-At-All Accurate to the Source Material, Ghiblifest of which his father did not approve!”

I’m seeing it at 4:40 tomorrow afternoon. I have yet to read the books, although they are among my mother’s favourites. I will be sure to get back to you with a full report!
Sydneysiders: Join in the fun!
Americans: Envy us or revel in your fortune! The choice is yours!

PS. Kon Satoshi’s Paprika is showing as part of the Sydney Film Festival. I’ve already bought my tickets. Have you?

I just realised some kind soul set me to “On Hiatus” on Anime Nano. I wasn’t going mad crazy! I’m not at full steam yet, folks, but I did cover some heavy ground in the last couple of months! Heavy … wishing ground? Check it out, old friends! I miss you so much it feels like the freaking Wizard of Oz over here!